When it comes to nutrition - it seems that everyone is an "expert." Eat carbs, don't eat carbs. To supplement, or not to supplement? In every nutritional camp there is a host of Do's and Don'ts, foods you can eat and foods you should avoid like the plague. There are success stories, self-appointed gurus, and millions of dollars spent promoting and marketing the latest products and programs.
Without a degree in diet and nutrition, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't can be a quest that wastes a whole lot of time and even more money!
Protein Low Carb
But with so much attention focused on what and how much athletes need to eat, a crucial component in the equation has been, for the most part, totally neglected. The missing element in the quest for optimal nutrition is time and the science that's promoting it is known as nutrient timing.
While the past few years have seen a surge in interest about post-event nutrition among bodybuilders and performance athletes, the potential influence and significance of nutrient timing still manages to somehow elude the general public. Even inside the athletic community, there's huge room for awareness and improvement - especially among martial artists and other combat athletes.
If you're stuck on a performance plateau and looking for a simple solution that won't cost a fortune, won't require you to up heave your lifestyle, while aiding in your recover and promoting muscular growth, then nutrient timing may be just what the doctor ordered.
Nutrient Timing: What it Is and How it Works... To put it in a nutshell, nutrient timing is simply being mindful of when to eat in light of three major checkpoints:
o Pre-exercise
o During exercise, and
o Post-exercise
A successfully implemented nutrient timing program will incorporate four objectives:
1. Supporting optimal performance during training sessions 2. Providing all nutritional components necessary for muscle growth 3. Exploiting post-exercise glycogen replenishment to the max and 4. Following a dietary regimen that promotes growth, recovery and repair 24/7
However, in order to put those objectives into place, you have to first understand the three distinct phases your body goes through over the course of a training day.
The 3 Phases of Training Day When you workout or train, your day can be broken down into three distinct stages: the energy phase, the anabolic phase and the growth phase...
Phase 1: The Energy Phase Nutrient timing works as a cycle. This cycle begins with the workout - what we refer to as the energy phase. When you're training, your body has specific energy demands in order to achieve muscle contraction.
The fuel source your body burns best is glucose, which is derived from either glycogen (stored in the liver or muscles) or blood glucose.
The amount of glucose your body needs increases directly with the intensity of your training.
As your glucose levels are depleted, the time it takes to reach fatigue is decreased. Neglecting your glucose intake before working out is the equivalent of expecting a quarter of a tank of gas to last the length of a three hundred mile journey - it's just not going to work!
According to the authors of Nutrient Timing, ingesting carbohydrates (foods with a high glycemic index are best) will help to increase muscular glucose uptake and at the same time, it will increase muscle glycogen synthesis.
Exactly how much carbohydrate intake is needed is still up for grabs. However, one Dr. Murray headed a research study that tested the impact carbohydrates had on athletes engaging in intermittent cycling, using carbohydrate beverages. The findings had a two-fold impact:
1. After review, it was determined that the TYPE of carbohydrate beverage given didn't matter, and 2. As little as 16g of carbohydrates sipped over an hour produced performance improvements AND higher plasma glucose levels.
During the energy phase, protein intake can also be advantageous - especially when paired with carbs. Dr. John Ivy, co-author of Nutrient Timing, decided to investigate how carb/protein supplementation would affect endurance activity performance. The findings showed that carb/protein supplementation outperformed carb administration alone.
Unfortunately, the results, while promising, only go to deepen the mystery. These performance differences couldn't be explained away by individual variation in insulin levels. As it sits, researchers are STILL unsure what specific influence protein had on the boosted activity. Because of this, hoping for a widespread recommendation to mix protein with carbs DURING your workout probably won't be entering the scene any time soon - despite the fact that it's already shown that it can get results.
Phase 2: The Anabolic Phase In simple terms, your body's anabolic phase is basically just a brief window of opportunity (pinned down to the forty-five minutes after training or competition is complete and NO MORE than 2 hours later). For this brief span of time, your body is working hard to replete itself.
Six important things are going on behind the scenes during the anabolic stage:
1. The body begins shifting from catabolism (the "breaking down" metabolic phase") to anabolism (the "construction" metabolic phase) 2. Muscle blood flow is enhanced 3. Glycogen stores are replenished 4. Tissue begins to grow and repair 5. Muscle damage is reduced 6. The immune system is bolstered
Of course, this only works if your body is able to meet these demands with the right nutrients at the right time.
Once your workout is complete, your body is primed up to get your glycogen stores back to pre-exercise levels. Additionally, protein synthesis and repair are needed. While this is going on, insulin sensitivity is boosted.
Many athletes argue that they just can't eat after exercise. I call bull shite! As few as 100 calories (including fats, carbs and proteins) is all it takes to milk your anabolic phase for everything its worth. And you've really only got about 45 minutes (less than 5% of your day) to get it done!
While carbs alone are enough to increase the stores (and rates of storage) of glycogen, if you want to replenish your muscle's glycogen stores faster, you've got to integrate protein as well.
Another group of researchers (headed by Dr. Levenhagen) asserts that by combining protein and carbs (the earlier the better) not only will you help replenish your muscle glycogen, but enhance your whole-body and leg protein accrual as well!
Yet another research team (this time headed by Dr. Van Loon) found that by supplementing carbs with wheat hydrolysate and free leucine and phenylalanine they were able to boost the body's insulin response 88% better than carbs alone. They found that, for the BEST results, athletes should ingest this mixture in two-hour intervals, after training is complete - starting immediately. While the jury is still out as to EXACTLY how long these benefits persist, one Dr. Richter (yet another researcher) found them in evidence more than four hours down the line.
Of course, restocking your glycogen stores isn't the only objective of the anabolic phase. Muscle growth and repair are also key components. Researcher Dr. Chandler headed a team that studied experienced weight lifters broken down into three different groups:
o Those drinking water
o Those drinking a carbohydrate supplement
o Or those drinking a carb/protein supplement
When the study was over and the results reviewed, the team testing the carb and protein mix not only produced more insulin, but their growth hormone levels were boosted as well, creating a primed environment for growth. They also found that protein supplementation (when done immediately after your routine) also encouraged greater muscle hypertrophy.
Which takes us into the third phase...
Phase 3: The Growth Phase Phase 2 paved the way for Phase 3, the growth phase. It covers the rest of your day after the immediate period following your workout routine.
The first part of the growth phase occurs while your body is still in post-exercise mode.
Because glycogen replenishment is still underway, part of Phase 3's goal is to exploit this process for as long as humanly possible. However, there are additional goals as well: enhancing protein synthesis and muscle growth (hence the name, "growth phase).
A team of researchers headed by Dr. MacDougall, found that during the first four hours after exercise, protein synthesis increased by 50% (following resistance training). At the 24 hour period, that percentage has increased to 109%. By the 36 hour mark, protein synthesis has fallen back down to baseline levels.
Further evidence seems to support that by consuming a carb/protein mix PRIOR to exercise, you can work to enhance post-exercise protein synthesis as well.
By understanding what's going on during each of these three phases, you'll understand the importance not only of what and how you're eating, but when you're eating as well.
Since we've talked a lot about carb and protein supplementation before, during and after exercise, I figured we'd wind up this article with a quick peek at several pre- and post-exercise snack ideas that can give you a practical edge...
o An energy bar with an eight ounce sports drink
o Two slices of whole grain toast with two tablespoons of peanut butter
o An orange paired with ½ c. of low-fat cottage cheese
o 1 c. of oatmeal (cooked) with ¼ c. of raisins
o ¼ c. of granola mixed with 1 c. of yogurt
o 2 egg omelet (containing 1 c. of fresh vegetables) and 1 whole wheat English muffin
o 1 ounce of pretzels and 1 stick of string cheese
o 1 medium apple paired with ¼ c. of nuts
o ½ of a whole wheat bagel and a hard-boiled egg
o 1 whole wheat pita and ½ c. canned tuna
o 1 banana and ¼ c. of soy nuts
o 1 c. orange juice and ¼ c. of sunflower seeds
o 3 ounces of chicken breast (boiled or grilled) with 1 c. cooked white rice
Nutrient timing isn't that complicated. In fact, it's just simple enough that you can actually make it work, and achieve rapid, measurable results!
Bon Appetite!
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